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Of course, the story of our nation is not without its difficult chapters. In many ways—over many years—we have struggled to advance the promise of these principles to all of our people, and to forge a more perfect union. We fought a very painful civil war, and freed a portion of our population from slavery. It took time for women to be extended the right to vote, for workers to win the right to organize, and for immigrants from different corners of the globe to be fully embraced. Even after they were freed, African Americans persevered through conditions that were separate and not equal, before winning full and equal rights.
當然，我國的歷史也并非沒有困難的篇章。在很多方面，在很長的時間里，我們要通過斗爭去實現這些原則對全體人民的承諾，締造一個更趨完善的聯邦。我們曾打過一場很痛苦的內戰，將我國的一部分人口從奴隸制中解放出來。婦女獲得投票權、勞工贏得組織權、來自世界各地的移民受到完全的接納——這些都是經過了一段時間的努力才實現的。非洲裔美國人即使在獲得自由后依然生活在被隔離和不平等的條件下，他們經過不懈努力才最終贏得全面、平等的權利。
None of this was easy. But we made progress because of our belief in those core principles, which have served as our compass through the darkest of storms. That is why Lincoln could stand up in the midst of civil war and declare it a struggle to see whether any nation, conceived in liberty, and "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could long endure. That is why Dr. Martin Luther King could stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and ask that our nation live out the true meaning of its creed. That's why immigrants from China to Kenya could find a home on our shores; why opportunity is available to all who would work for it; and why someone like me, who less than 50 years ago would have had trouble voting in some parts of America, is now able to serve as its President.
所有這些都不曾輕而易舉。但是，由于我們堅信這些核心原則，我們取得了進步，這些原則指引我們沖過了最黑暗的風暴。這就是為什么林肯能在內戰中挺身而出并宣布，這是一場考驗一個孕育于自由之中、“忠實于人人生而平等這一原則”的國家能否永存的斗爭。這也是為什么馬丁·路德·金博士能夠站立在林肯紀念堂的臺階上，要求我們的國家實踐自身信仰的真正含義。這也是為什么來自中國或肯尼亞的各國移民能夠在我國的土地上安家；為什么所有努力尋求機會的人都能獲得機會；為什么像我這種在不到50年前在美國的某些地方連投票都會遇到困難的人，現在能夠出任這個國家的總統的原因。
